The Tennessee Department of Education on Wednesday announced 21 new career and technical education certificates it will be implementing in schools in the 2018-19 year.

New certificates in a variety of programs including welding; agricultural engineering and applied technologies; office management; accounting and coding are among those that will be implemented.

“As we seek to prepare more students for college and careers – especially in our state’s high demand industries, such as information technology and health science – we must provide more opportunities for students to earn meaningful credentials and certifications while in high school,” Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said in a news release.

“This is the largest single year increase of promoted industry certifications since we have implemented a state-recognized list of aligned industry certifications and annual review process through our (Career Technical Education) reform work.”

Decisions on what new certificates to offer were based on local school district and industry requests, according to the release from the Tennessee Department of Education. It said that 76 percent of CTE programs now directly align with their markets.

In 2017, there were 37,000 students in Tennessee enrolled in CTE programs, an increase of about 10,000, or 40 percent, from 2015.

The addition of the 21 new certificates brings the department's total number of industry recognized certificates to 80. It also helps create new pathways for students to achieve certificates through a specific program of study.

CTE programs are integral to the state's efforts to achieve 55 percent of Tennesseans with a college degree or certificate by 2025, Wednesday's release said.

"High schools are encouraged to provide students career-aligned learning pathways through robust CTE programs that culminate with the achievement of nationally recognized industry certifications, capstone work-based learning experiences, and attainment of post-secondary credit hours," it said.